Word: haruo
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...When Haruo Takano, a Tokyo sixth-grader, comes home in the middle of the afternoon after a full day at school, he has a quick snack and takes a nap for an hour or so. Then promptly at 5, he packs up his books again and heads off to a second school, where he studies until 9. Back home once more, he locks himself in his room for two hours of homework, including one with a private tutor. Not until midnight is little Haruo, 11, finally allowed to turn out his light. Says he, wearily: "I'm happy only...
...Haruo's grueling day is not uncommon in Japan, where a child's chances for future success in politics, business or the professions depend heavily on the prestige of his gakureki-literally, his academic background. One index of the increasing pressure on young Japanese to pile up an impressive gakureki is the phenomenal rise of after-hours or weekend schools known as juku. Their main purpose: to help students cram for tough competitive entrance exams required to get into the most select high schools and the best colleges...
Paradoxically, the disdain that is now alienating Yokoi from his countrymen helped keep him alive and sane during his long ordeal in the jungle; both he and Psychiatrist Haruo Kawai, who has examined him since his return, agree on that. In his youth, Yokoi was apparently made to feel inferior. Out of iji (spite), he decided to prove himself superior to everyone else in at least one thing: the capacity to suffer. "I had an extra-tough childhood," Yokoi explains. "So many people were harsh, cruel or downright brutal to me. By sticking to the jungle, I actually sought...